System maximums and limits

DFP enforces various limits and maximums on the entities you create. Keep the following limits in mind when setting up your inventory and orders.

Monitor your network's maximums and limits
Administrators can view system limits that apply to your network and whether you're close to reaching them.

In DFP, click AdminGlobal settingsLimits.

If your network uses Teams, only members of the "All entities" Team can view the Limits dashboard.

Limits in the dashboard followed by a number in parentheses are network-wide limits. Those without a number in parentheses are local limits, listed for reference. If the limit in the table does not match the limit in this article, an exception may apply.

To avoid reaching this limit, consider deactivating line items that are active, but not delivering. Learn more about how to find line items in DFP.

Creatives per line item: 260

Targeted criteria per line item: 800

In general, what you see in the targeting expression counts toward the limit. A few notes on more complex targeting:

Placement Targeting: Each placement counts as one targeting criteria, even if the placement itself contains more than one ad unit.

Day/Time targeting: If you are using day/time targeting, the contiguous active blocks for each day of the week count as one criteria toward the total targeting criteria limit.

If you had a line item running from 3pm-7pm each day, it would count as 7 targeting criteria (one targeting parameter times seven days). If you had a line item with 11am-1pm and 2pm - 5pm blocks on weekdays, it would count as 10 targeting criteria (2 active blocks for each day of 5 days).

Frequency capping: Does not count toward the targeting criteria limit.

Key-values: Each key-value pair counts as one targeting criteria toward the limit. If the expression uses match types, like key is not ~value*, each key to match type value is counted as one targeting criteria toward the limit.

See examples

Let’s look at two examples with the following targeting:

Example 1

Line item targeting:

Ad Unit: 300x250Web

Key-values: (cat=Education AND art_id=123) OR color=blue OR env=test OR clubcode=XYZ

An ad request URL has a character limit, depending on the tag type, which may limit the number of key-values.

Google Publisher Tags use the HTTP GET method to request ads, which limits the number of bytes that can be passed with each request. Ad tags using synchronous rendering are limited to 4,096 characters per request. However, if the tag type is asynchronous and exceeds 4,096 characters, GPT automatically uses the POST method, which increases this limit to 8,192 characters.*

* The character limit increase with the POST method does not apply to ads rendering in IE versions 9, and below.

Google Publisher Tags use the HTTP GET method to request ads, which limits the number of bytes that can be passed with each request. Ad tags using synchronous rendering are limited to 4,096 characters per request. However, if the tag type is asynchronous and exceeds 4,096 characters, GPT automatically uses the POST method, which increases this limit to 8,192 characters.*

* The character limit increase with the POST method does not apply to ads rendering in IE versions 9, and below.

DFP monitors networks to ensure that technical glitches aren't causing runaway creation of orders, line items, creatives, ad units, placements, or advertisers. In such cases, to protect your network, DFP places a temporary limit on the creation of new items.

For example, if an external program that uses the DFP API to connect to your network is creating thousands of new orders in a very short time period, it's probably an error. These temporary limits can be imposed even if the rapid creation hasn't violated any of the numerical limits listed above. We'll work with you to resolve the problem and get your network back in working order.